Raising of Rootstock for Pear: Cuttings Layering, Air Layering and Mound Layering

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Raising of Rootstock for Pear: Cuttings Layering, Air Layering and Mound Layering!

Pear is commonly propagated on pear root suckers (Pyrus calleryana) or called ‘Batank’, or on seedlings of kainth (Pyrus pashia).

In earlier publications pear root suckers have been considered to be Pyrus pashia, which has been proved wrong. No root suckers emerge from own rooted patharnakh (P. pyrifolia) or shiara (P. serotina) cutting when used as rootstock. The Kanith roots also do not produce any root suckers; it produced collar suckers only which cannot be used for propagation.

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A twenty-year-old tree raised from root sucker did not come into flowering Shiara bearing, under condition whereas Kainth Shiara and Patharnakh tree bear profusely. The root suckers are usually removed from the orchards during October-November. Plant the suckers in beds at 15cm apart in lines at 30cm distance. Only surviving suckers should be grafted during January.

Cuttings:

For raising rootstock from patharnath (Pyrus pyrifolia); Shiara (P. serotina) or kainth (P. pashia) cuttings, the cuttings are prepared during December. To improve the rooting percentage the basal portions of the cutting may be dipped in l00ppm IB A for 24 hours, before planting.

Some other fruit plants can also be propagated through cuttings e.g. Pomegranate, grapes, guava and plum. The cuttings are prepared from one-year-old shoots in December and treated with IBA solution for improving rooting. The white ant attack is checked by using chloropriphos (20%) l0ml/litre 10-15 days after planting and again 20-30 days after. The cutting beds are kept moist for maximum rooting.

Layering:

This is an easy method of raising well-sized plants. Roots are induced on the shoots on the mother tree itself. There are many methods of layering like air layering, mound layering, trench layering and serpentine layering, etc. Only air layering and mound layering are commercially used. Air Layering:

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One-year-old 40-50cm long straight shoots are selected. Ring of bark 3 cm wide just near the bud is removed. Moss grass or crushed Echorinia roots are used to wrap the naked part and few centimeters further, with the help of polythene sheet. July-August is the best time for air layering in litchi or guava. Use of IBA l00ppm at the site of the ring removed can produce early and good number of roots in a layer.

The layers should be removed from the parent tree, as and when roots are visible in the polythene sheet or after 40-45 days of air layering. The rooted air layers are planted in the nursery after removing the polythene sheet. After a year or so these plants are planted in the field.

Mound Layering:

(Stooling) this method is very successful for guava propagation. The mother plants are established at one meter apart. The main shoot is cut during March at a height of l0cm to initiate 7-10 fast growing shoots. From these shoots bark as in air layers is removed at 5 cm above the ground level during July-August. Then earthling up erects a mound, to cover at least 15-20, cm of the shoots length and the soil is kept moist. Roots develop within 20-25 days above the ringed portions.

The rooted shoots are detached from the mother plant below the roots during January-February, after gently removing the soil. The rooted shoots are planted in the nursery. The same mother plants are used for a number of years for raising the mound layers.